Kale and Artichoke Soup

Ah, spring, when a young man’s fancy turns to Hamden. Tanning at Tommy K’s, blithely strolling the wide aisles of Liquor Land, getting greasy burgers from the Dutchess Drive-Thru. I wish that I was there right now. Not to mention Sleeping Giant, Ashley’s ice cream and the Blockbuster by Walmart, I’m sure long abandoned. We went to college in the crossfire at a crossroads. In one direction, a cool ivy-covered downtown with interesting boutiques, museums, The Group W Bench, Thai food, coffee shops and bars and places to smoke cloves and pretend you’d read more Burroughs than you actually had. And in the other, there was Hamden. When you didn’t want to change out of pajamas. Hamden: where you could rent to to own a black lacquered coffee table, fulfill all your Big and Tall Mens needs, source discount cigarettes and a giant dill pickle at that one gross deli on Dixwell Ave, and get a plate of medicinal gravy fries from the Acropolis Diner at 2 in the morning. The other thing my girlfriends and I would sometimes do – tell no one – was split a frozen strawberry margarita and bowl of spinach artichoke dip from one of those cheesy chain restaurants, the one with all the flare. Afterward we would steal lilacs growing over the garden walls surrounding campus. These are the rituals I miss most.

Kale and Artichoke Soup

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 yellow onion, diced

3 large garlic cloves, minced

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 parsnip, peeled and diced

2 cups kale, stems removed, roughly chopped

1 15 oz can artichoke hearts, drained and rinsed

1 tablespoon butter

1 32 oz container chicken broth

1 cup cream

2 dashes cayenne

1 dash nutmeg

Handful Parmesan cheese

Method:

In a Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and garlic, season and cook until softened. Add parsnips, kale, artichoke hearts and butter, stir and cook down, 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth, cayenne and nutmeg and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to low, add the cream and simmer, 10 minutes. Blend the soup until it is smooth. Garnish with Parmesan cheese and serve with a slice of toasted baguette and a drizzle of olive oil.

About Jillian Bedell

Comments

I had some kale from the farmer’s market that I needed to use up so was glad to find this recipe as I love anything with artichokes in it. As I can’t eat cream or butter I had to leave those out, I just used olive oil and substituted non-fat Greek yogurt for the cream. It was delicious topped with the croutons I made yesterday from a baguette and my fake parmesan cheese. We look forward to the leftovers too. Thanks for the recipe!

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We're Jillian and Malcolm. Join us as we cook classic recipes from New England (as well as our favorite comfort food From Away), and explore all of Maine's vibrant food culture. Click here to read more.

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